The property is a one-bedroom first-floor flat in a modern office block converted to flats around 2016, in Stockton-on-Tees. The tenant paid £525 a month. On 3 March 2026 the landlord served a notice proposing £575 a month from 7 May 2026. The tenant referred the notice to the tribunal. The tenant paid council tax, and said he paid a further £48.21 a month to the landlord for water. The landlord provided basic furniture and white goods.
The landlord did not respond, so the tribunal relied on the tenant's papers, his evidence at the hearing and its own expertise. The tenant produced two January 2026 advertisements at £550 a month for similar flats in the same building, and an undated £500 advertisement for a flat in another building on the estate. The tribunal set a rent of £550 for the flat in good repair, deducted £50 for disrepair and determined £500 a month. That is £25 below the existing rent and £75 below the proposed rent.
The landlord supplied no comparable rents and no evidence about the condition of the flat, and none of the tenant's evidence was contested. The tribunal therefore worked from the tenant's comparables and his account of the defects. A landlord planning a rent review can gather their own local evidence beforehand, deal with reported repairs, and respond to the tribunal's request for information, so that the tribunal has more than the tenant's account to consider.
What the tribunal relied on
- Two similar flats in the same building were advertised at £550 a month in January 2026.
- The tribunal deducted £50 a month for disrepair, including a draughty window, faulty radiators and a leaking tap.
- The tenant said the landlord's furniture was in poor condition and he had replaced the easy chair.
- The landlord did not respond to the application or provide comparables, and the tenant's evidence was not contested.